Nicholls adds 17 signees with more to come

Thursday

Feb 7, 2013 at 7:15 AMFeb 7, 2013 at 7:15 AM

The work is just beginning for Nicholls State University when it comes to football recruiting.

Teddy RenoisStaff Writer

The work is just beginning for Nicholls State University when it comes to football recruiting.Nicholls head football coach Charlie Stubbs unveiled his 2013 signing class at John L. Guidry Stadium's Century Club Room on National Signing Day Wednesday. The Colonels added 17 players to the program, but Stubbs said it's only the beginning when it comes to recruiting.For the complete list of Nicholls signees go to www.geauxcolonels.com."This is definitely the first stage in our recruiting. We will have additional scholarships for high school players that may qualify late or for any Football Bowl Subdivision transfers," Stubbs said. "We still have a lot of work to do and we do research recruits, and we just don't check to see if they can play football. We have to check out academics and their character to see if they will fit in our community."Of the 17 players that signed with Nicholls there were four linebackers, four defensive backs, three offensive linemen, two tight ends, one defensive lineman and one wide receiver. The Colonels also netted two players they consider athletes and can play either offense or defense.Also, 13 signees are from Louisiana, while two are from Alabama, one from Mississippi and one from Texas.Stubbs said the key word with this signing class is versatility.While showing video highlights, Stubbs noted several players that could play on either side of the line of scrimmage."You will notice we have some exceptional athletes, but some are also exceptional students," Stubbs said. "We also signed some versatile athletes. We emphasized guys that played multiple positions and did all kind of things. I think the more talent we got on our team, the more we can move people around and become versatile on the field."One difference with this signing class, which is Stubbs' fourth at Nicholls, is the addition of players that received ratings from recruiting websites.The Colonels signed two players, offensive lineman Hunter Alleman from Assumption and defensive back J.P. Reed from Loreauville, who are considered two-stars recruits on Scout.com.Also the jewel of the signing class is the University of Houston transfer Keithen English, who went to A. Maceo Smith High School in Dallas.English, 6-foot-2, 330-pound defensive tackle, was a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com in 2011.English was redshirted at Houston last season and is already enrolled at Nicholls.Stubbs said after three years, he is more established with high school football coaches, which has helped in landing better talent."The one thing is we have made inroads with the high school coaches and you can't fool them. They see us all the time recruiting in the spring. They are starting to trust that we will do all right by their players," Stubbs said. "They are more cooperative and we are able to get on the recruits early. Some of these kids, we've been talking to them for over a year and inviting them to our games. I think building those relationships has helped us improved in signing more talented players."E.D. White Catholic football coach Kyle Lasseigne said he was impressed with how Nicholls recruited and signed his players, Stephen LeBouef and Geoffrey Hebert."I honestly think Nicholls does it the right way. They were on my kids early and they found the kids that fit their program, made their decision and gave them an opportunity to play," Lasseigne said. "I think that is the right way and in recruiting it doesn't always happen that way. Nicholls wanted these kids and I probably can say that for all the area kids."Coming off back-to-back 1-10 seasons, Stubbs knows he needs to start winning games, but he is certain the program is heading in the right direction and the wins will come."I know some of the questions are after three years what have we done. I know the won-loss record isn't where we want it to be, but we had to first build the program in other areas," Stubbs said. "We improved the APR. When we came here, Nicholls football was ranked at the bottom of the Southland Conference, but now we are second in APR and making headway. We are improving but we are not satisfied, but the program is heading in the right direction."

SCHEDULING UPDATENicholls will release its 2013 football schedule today.Stubbs said he has secured a 12th game on the schedule, but it is not finalized yet by the NCAA and will not be added to the schedule until next week.